The Saffron Secret
by Yellowmagesfairytail
Summary: Seven years after the Kings of the three nations disappear, the pirate ship Ice Tail sets off for the Saffron Palace to find the secret location of the treasure Holy God's secret, that shall make the finder a god. Prince of Ice Kingdom and pirate of Ice Tail, Gray Fullbuster must find the map to Holy God's secret. But what happens when that map is actually a young princess? Gruvia.
1. The Saffron Palace

**AN: This is Yellowmagesfairytail here, with a new story. I've decided to write a Fairy Tail story on Juvia, one of my favorite characters in the anime. About the other Fairy Tail story I did, Bluemagesfairytail hacked into my account and then made that, and she knows I ship NaLu, not NaLi. So sorry, but I deleted it. But anyway, this story should contain good amounts of these shippings: Gruvia, Lyuvia, Totuvia, NaLu, GaLe, GaJu, Miraxus, Jerza (Hurrah!), Erza x Simon, and... Way more I'm too lazy to name. But I will try and make this fic the best I can make it, so please read and review. Thanks. BTW: This is a collab. between myself and BMFT.  
**

**The Saffron Palace**

**Chapter 1**

The ocean was calm and peaceful, seafoam covered waves lapping mildly at the ship's wooden hull. The ship _Ice Tail _was docked at the bay, the anchor set down to keep the ship from drifting off. On the deck of the glorious ship were four figures, each of them standing proud with their shoulders pulled back and postures straight and erect-all of them being the early-year and high ranking pirate mages, while the lower divisions were under the deck, resting from the failed mission to scour the island in search of Saffron Palace. The first person, a lean young male with spiky pink hair wearing a plain white checkered scarf and black vest seemed to be irritated, teeth clenched together in a way to keep his mouth shut. His onyx eyes stared icily at the red haired woman in front of them, and the flying-yes, flying-cat by his side watched the argument anxiously.

"Captain Erza, I told you! This whole island is deserted, no one's here to tell us where the Saffron Palace is! And why isn't Gray here yet?" The young man snapped angrily, fists balled. He seemed to be in a mixture of emotions-frustration, irritation, and exasperation all rolled up into one vat of anger. He was practically seething. "Aye, sir!" The cat next to him exclaimed, and Natsu nodded. The red haired woman who he had addressed as Captain wore a huge set of silver armor and a black Captain's hat. She stared with her large brown eyes, unaffected by his angry talk.

"He's resting up after receiving so many injuries at Galuna Island... And I thought you liked adventure, Natsu," She said, and crossed her arms. The corners of her mouth upturned into a tiny smirk as what she said infuriated the pink-haired boy even further.

"I love adventure," Natsu said, and snapped his fingers in Erza's face to emphasize his point, "But there's no reason in staying here, where there are no people at all that can tell us where he Saffron Palace is, instead of going out and getting some real adventure... I could be finding Igneel right now. Face it, Er, this is a hopeless case right now," Natsu said, talking about his father, the run-away King of the Fire Nation, and then looked at the red haired captain as if daring her to top his reasoning.

The third person standing on the deck, a female who had long, wavy dark brown hair and wore nothing but a blue brazier and a long, veil like skirt and jacket, smirked and chuckled. She took a long swig from the wine bottle gripped firmly and lovingly in her hand. "For once, Natsu, you actually made sense and reasoned! Hurrah! Cheers!" She called out tipsily, and began to chug, slightly wobbling up and down on her feet, even though the ship wasn't in motion. Natsu glared at her with fire burning in his eyes.

"YOU WANNA GO, CANA?!"

The last person on the deck, a young female with snow white hair and blue eyes, giggled weakly a bit before restraining Natsu. Her pale fingers grasped his arm back as he attempted to slug the drinking pirate mage with a hand set on fire. The cat on his other side attempted to restrain him as well, but it was hard due to the cat's lack of strength.

"LEMME GO, HAPPY, LISANNA! SHE'S ASKING FOR IT!"

Cana cackled, laughing drunkedly, and Lisanna sweatdropped as she tried to hold her childhood friend back from killing their other childhood friend. "Why do you want to see the Saffron Palace, anyway?" Lisanna asked politely. Erza shook her head. "It's not the Palace I want to see-It's what the Palace contains... The secret to the God's Hope."

"A map?" Natsu asked, and fire blazed out of his fists.

Erza chuckled and tossed some scarlet hair out of her brown eyes.

"Natsu, you of all should know the answer to that question... And also, that violence is never the answer..." Erza said, half reprimanding and half joking darklly, but chuckling. Natsu looked at the red haired captain warily, and stopped struggling to attack Cana. Lisanna huffed, getting a break after holding back her extremely strong friend.

"IT'S THE QUESTION, AND THE ANSWER IS ALWAYS YES!"

And so, the double fight ensued- Erza Scarlet, captain of Ice Tail ship and knight of the Royal Ice Land division, versus Natsu Dragneel, used-to-be prince of the Fire nation along with his flying cat pet thing named Happy, and Cana versus her bottle of wine.

And... Well, you already knew who the victors were, correct?

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The beautiful golden palace was laced in white marble decorations and ribbons, created especially to fit the glory of the Water Kingdom around it. A huge bubble surrounded the Kingdom, keeping it safe from the water around. Oceanic animals swam past the Utopia, used to seeing the beauty around them like it was nothing. The Palace sparkled, truly a magnificent sight. A girl was standing on the steps of the golden palace, her blue hair curled perfectly. Her dark blue eyes watched her surroundings, her feet pressed together firmly. Her lips were molded together in a straight line. The girl wore a plain white dress with blue ocean designs on the bottom and tights with scuffy black shoes. She watched the Kingdom solemnly.

Suddenly, a figure dressed all in black appeared on the horizon, becoming larger and larger by the second. The woman's blue eyes widened an her bleak expression turned into one of happiness and excitement. She smiled and perked up immediately, joy practically bursting off of her persona.

"Gajeel-kun!"

The woman broke her tight and tense stand, and cried out in joy, running to the young, yet very burly man dressed in a brown cloak with black garments underneath. He choked as the woman jumped up and ran into him, hugging him with her arms wrapped firmly around his neck. Gajeel's face turned slightly pink, but he gulped and felt it fade away. He gently, yet firmly grasped her arms, trying to pry the princess off of him.

"Juvia missed you, Gajeel-kun!" The blue haired woman exclaimed, and finally, the black haired man was able to pull the blue haired royalty off of him. He blew some of his black wild mane from his face.

"I was only out buying things for the Midnight Moon Festival," He said gruffly, his tough act up yet again, and gestured to the bags in his hands. The woman speaking in third person, Juvia, pouted, her lips pressed together firmly.

"Well, Gajeel-kun knows Juvia gets lonely in that palace," She reminded him, and he faltered slightly before regaining his usual tough demeanor. "Yet Gajeel-kun refused top let Juvia go with him to the market place! It's not fair," She said again, and crossed her arms childishly. Gajeel sighed sharply.

"Well, I'm not your babysitter," he reminded her, feeling slightly guilty for scolding the woman again, "And you're not allowed to leave the palace. Only when there are special events, due to security," He said, and began to walk ahead to enter the palace. It was true, there were many evils out in the world, desiring to break the safe Utopia of the Water Kingdom and kill... Juvia nodded, looking defiant. "Juvia knows," She said. "But it's boring in the Palace. Juvia wants to go to new places~! And find her true love~"

Gajeel sighed. Princess Juvia was in her own little world yet again. He grumbled to himself... He would never be her prince, would he? He began to cuss in his mind until he remembered what he was and what she was. Princess Juvia, water gem and jewel of the Kingdom, heir to the throne and destine for greatness. And he-some used to be big shot, measly, unwanted beggar that had happened to receive kindness and become the keeper of the beauty who would never return his affections... And-

"Is Gajeel-kun alright?" Juvia asked suddenly from behind him, "He suddenly stopped in front of the steps."

"Fine," He snapped back, off of habit, and walked up the steps, the sound of his heavy black boots clomping onto the golden steps of the Saffron Palace, "Just fine." He continued to walk, opening the doors and entering with the princess behind him, and silence settled upon the two. He blinked, and then felt guilty.

"Don't worry about it, Ju," He said, using the princess's nickname with rare kindness evident in his voice. She smiled, and her face lit up happily. "You just focus on looking beautiful for the Midnight Parade, alright?" He asked, teasing her. She giggled and then began to skip along, catching up to his side.

"Hai, Gajeel-kun!"


	2. The Rust Formed After Many Years

**AN: This is Yellowmagesfairytail here, with the second chapter of the Saffron Secret. Thanks for all of the reviews and follows and favorites, I appreciate them greatly. However, I do like reviews, like any author here, so be sure to drop in a review. I also would appreciate constructive criticism from any experienced authors and I like long reviews, too. ^^ Anyway, here is the second chapter. I don't own anything but my plot and the ideas, and Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. Thanks. Enjoy and review.  
**

_A young girl with dark blue hair and dark brown eyes sat forlornly in the pale white and sky blue bed in the large ivory and blue ornate palace, her eyes watching the empty and cold space in front of her sadly. Her skin was an unhealthy pale, the dress she wore that used to be white now a tattered and dirty color that resembled dirty snow. On her head, where her blue hair cascaded down her back, sat a small silver tiara with an aquamarine stone placed on the top, signalling the highest royalty. The sparkle in the gem was not copied by her sad eyes.  
_

_Her mother, queen of the Heaven Sky Kingdom, was gone without a trace. The strong willed woman who had managed to_ earn_ her right to the throne without a husband, the woman who had served for seven years in the Royal National Dragneel Army and lived to tell the tale, the woman who had been so kind despite the flaws and tragedies that were scattered around her past so unconditionally... The woman who had given birth to her after a tragedy and yet had made her who she was...  
_

_That woman had disappeared. It had been the third month since.  
_

_Princess Wendy sat in her bed, her brown eyes unblinking. She watched the door to her bedroom in utter silence. no one tried to talk to her anymore. No one had tried to convince her to move on anymore. Her stubborn mind and the sadness locked away in her heart made it impossible to move on. She needed closure. But it was too far away... It kept inching away from her grasp whenever she remembered her mother, the fond memories making it impossible to forget. She was stuck in that bed forever, to be forever watching that door and wishing her mother would come back right through it with her usual sky blue hair and those warm, warm hazel eyes Wendy loved so much.  
_

_But even Wendy knew the truth. She would never see Grandine again. Her heart kept hope, but her mind had already let Grandine go with loath. Wendy's head ached when she tried to remember...  
_

_So the day when she lost memory of the warm hazel eyes that told her all was well, her mind cracked and so did her spirits that her mother would ever return. And warm, crystal droplets of tears hit the red velvet floors, agonized screaming hitting ears, the soldiers positioned outside of the Royal Heaven Palace remembering their queen...  
_

_That was soon to be forgotten forever.  
_

The most beautiful girl in the Water Kingdom-no, rumored to be the whole world._  
_

Princess Juvia's deep blue hair had been let down in a free, wavy style, her curls complimenting her fair, slightly pale skin, her dark blue eyes contrasting greatly but seeming to glow with life. For the Midnight Moon Festival, she had been dressed in a white dress with a low neckline, showing much of her chest, with a blue and golden trimmed collar, the sleeves being light, ocean blue with golden sea-wave shaped embroidering. There were blue stitches all around the middle with dark blue water designs on the waistline, the sash being bright golden and the skirts being of a princess's- long and puffy like a cloud and dark, deep blue that matched her eyes. A tiara on the top with a sapphire. She was a princess. Now all she needed was a prince.

The princess walked down the grand staircase leading from her huge room down to the waiting room, and then took a turn to the right into the dining room. She smelled food, and by now it was time for her snack, something he didn't always need but the chefs and maids made for her anyway. She didn't want to be rude, too! Once she walked in, she was reminded of how lucky she was.

The dining room was absolutely amazing, the walls and floors made of red velvet and the sides done in golden trim. The room was extremely spacious, windows all around to provide natural light in the room, showing the outside view of the Water Kingdom. A large golden chandelier hung from the middle of the room, crystals and quartz fit perfectly to reflect light just right.

Juvia sat down at her chair at the right side of the head of the table where her father was to sit. However, she was the only person sitting there because she was having a snack, while her mother and father were working. Well, snack wasn't suitable to fit what was laid out on the buffet table. Seafood of all kinds were scattered around the table, steamed and broiled or fried, and many vegetable dishes and soups had been put out as well. Many cheeses and breads had been arranged, as well as juices, wines, and sparkling waters. The water princess looked slightly lonely as she sat and ate some of the porridge laid out in front of her. She felt bad. There were hungry people who would kill for a meal like this, and this was her snack. And whatever she didn't eat went to complete waste...

From the kitchen, Gajeel and a white haired young woman dressed in a maid uniform walked in, both properly dressed and quiet. Juvia's head snapped up as her face lit up in happiness, and she extended her hands to her dearest friends in joy. "Gajeel-kun! Li-chan!" She exclaimed, and beckoned them to the table, "Come eat with Juvia!"

Lisanna, the pretty female, chuckled, amused, and smiled at her childhood friend. Lisanna had short white hair cut into a neat bob and crystal, beautiful eyes, and was a maid at the Water Kingdom from when she had turned eleven. She had grown up in the Palace as daughter of servants, but when her parents died, she and her two siblings, Elfman and Mirajane, had gotten jobs at the Palace as well. Needless to say, Lisanna had grown up by the princess and the two were extremely close friends.

Gajeel, who was standing with his arms crossed, had changed from his scruffy cloak and traveler's outfit into a dark black muscle shirt lined in a tight fabric hat resembled metal, with baggy black pants and brown combat boots. His hair had not been brushed, however, so he didn't look much different, only less dirty. Despite the three being extremely different, each were friends and looked out for one another. Yet Gajeel knew he wanted to be more than friends... The bodyguard snarled to himself and shook the yearnings away from his mind, and then looked to the princess, who was waiting for a response with a warm, joyful gaze. Juvia... When did these feelings begin?

_..._

_...  
_

_A boy's shrill shriek could be heard from the docks of the island as grumbles and grunts of angry sailors came about. A little boy with with grubby clothes and red, hurt and pained eyes screamed as loud as he could as he was dangled by the long hair over the salty, unforgiving cold ocean. Rain was everywhere, smudging the place in blues and greys.  
_

_"Little brat," The sailor said, as he hung the young boy from his hair over the ocean, "Trying to catch rides on our boat for free! I should drown the sucker!" He yelled to his crew mates, who laughed cruelly, and the man turned to the boy he was holding suspended in the air effortlessly and hissed, "Wouldn't you like that? Rat!"  
_

_The boy grunted and struggled against the stronger male's grip, his blood red eyes never closing in defiance. "I'm not a rat! I am the prince of the Iron Nation!" He yelled out, but the statement only coaxed loud, condescending laughter from each of the sailors, their bellows echoing off of the boy's ears and poisoning him. He glared and tried to bite the man holding him up, but failed as the sailor shook him, making him cry out in pain as strands of black hair were ripped out.  
_

_"Look, kid," The man said, his eyes pointed in amusement, "That dad of yours, Metalicana, was it?" He asked, but continued even when the boy didn't say anything, "Yeah, well he's never coming back. No one agreed with what he said, and everyone defied him behind his back. He was a real stuck up asshole... And he would always get so angry for useless shit. Didn't his wife leave him for the Fire Nation life?" He asked, and the boy glared so murderously that he seemed to burn anger. His mother. They were talking about his mother...  
_

_"So," The sailor spat, "It was no surprise that Metalicana ran away like a coward, even when he said that a man should fight for what he believed in. So, kid, no one cares if your the son of that outcast," He said, and looked to his crew mates, who hollered in laughter as the ranting went on, not noticing the blood red eyes seeming to glow in pure fury. "He was absolutely nothing, not even worth being called a king-"  
_

_"SHUT UP!" The boy screamed suddenly, and jumped up swiftly and sank razor sharp fangs into the man's hand. The sailor screamed in agony as he pulled his hand back to his body, the boy being let go and falling back onto the deck of the ship. His red eyes were leaking tears. His mother and father. Both were gone...  
_

_But they were coming back, he knew. Even if they had left him and hurt him so much, they'd be back someday...  
_

_And he had to protect their honor until they did come back.  
_

_His arms glowed with power and with flashes of grey, two soldiers were sent flying into the wooden cabins in the back of the deck, smashing into the wood and groaning in pain. The first sailor who had been bitten glared, but his eyes widened as he saw the boy who had once seemed helpless and a simple orphaned beggar hold out his hand, which had halfway molded into a deadly looking sword with spikes on the sides. In a stupid act of rashness, the sailor yelled, "That's the son of the exile! The one who was abandoned!"  
_

_The once-a-prince boy continued to cry silently, red eyes glowing in fury, and he swung the sword wildly, smashing it into the deck and forcing the sailors to duck down in order to avoid being beheaded. Garbled and shocked screams rose from the men's throats. The boy, who now had tears streaming out of his eyes, was blinded in rage...  
_

_Just like they had said his father had been when he had fled the Iron Nation and left the whole Country in utter chaos and ruins. Blinded in a mist of rage, streaming to get away before they did something they regretted.  
_

_...  
_

The golden rings that had been given to the queen of the Iron Nation were found on the nightstand late at night. Nothing remained of her but her jewelry and her brooch, lying abandoned and alone. The black haired boy of only nine peered into the room where his father stood over the jewelry, his fists clenched.

The red eyes dampened as his father's shoulders lowered, the cold rush of wind providing the only sound to fill the empty and cold silence, one of yet many to begin.

...

Every single painstaking and excruciating day would be silence. He checked the throne room every day to see if his mother was back, always seeing his father sitting alone. Nothing to remember his mother. All the boy remembered were her green eyes and the long messy black hair she had, that often tickled to the touch. He didn't remember her voice anymore. He wondered where she went, but he was too afraid to ask. He knew the signs of his father's anger. Clenched fists, tight jaw, tense red eyes. Anger. Rage. Pain...

Gajeel wondered what was going on.

But that one single day when he had checked seven years ago, he remembered so clearly despite the fog of rage, was the day where the familiar sight of fur capes and an iron studded crown were gone.

_He was much like his father. But no one knew that behind the bullet proof surface was a conscience begging to be accepted and cared about, raging silently to be welcomed in with wide arms. All the feelings of warmth the prince remembered where when he and his mother and father had been a complete family. Other than that, only a lingering cold and hostile chill rolled up his body whenever he was near people. He couldn't trust anyone. He trusted his mother, and she left without a word of goodbye. Metalicana after his mother left, and he was abandoned.  
_

_Everyone was out to get him, to worm their way into his life and then leave him out in the cold. Rage was all he was greeted with. Rage was all he could feel. Rage was all he could act upon.  
_

_The iron sword came down, smashing across wood and splintering everything on sight in the deck, water beginning to gush out of some places. The sailors were yelling bloody murder to no avail. The boy couldn't stop. Half of him wanted him to stop and think about why his father and mother had left; their reasons. But the other side, the more powerful side, burnt in an energy of hurt anger, which was a limitless power supply.  
_

_'Please. Stop... They're coming back... What would he say if she saw you doing this? Would your father be proud?'  
_

_'They abandoned you, they left you and let you get beaten every day by the angry townspeople. They never cared, they hated you and that's why they left. They wanted nothing to do with you, and the people in the town didn't either. That's why they kicked you out and made you fend for your own. Even at the age of ten! No one cares!'  
_

_No one cares!  
_

_NO ONE CARES AT ALL!  
_

_Gajeel cried out in emotional turmoil as he smashed his iron-made hand into the deck, his ordeal causing the iron nation ability in his arm to cease, the regular right hand appearing instead. His head hurt so much. His body ached Everything hurt. The sailors began to slowly get up, in awe of the boy's power. But soon the awe turned into anger and the sailor from before ran up to Gajeel and grabbed his arm, rage written all over his face. The boy was out cold, dried tears on his dark cheeks. The huge man seethed.  
_

_"Get me the strong matches. We'll burn his hand so bad he won't ever be able to attack any one again... Then we drown him. Hurry up, before the demon gets up!"  
_

_And after the huge, blistering red and black burn was inflicted onto the prince's right hand, they tied him in tight ropes and cast him into the crystal waters, rain still smashing down into the sea.  
_

_...  
_

_"Is Stranger-san alright?"  
_

_Flashes of light.  
_

_Pain...  
_

_Sadness.  
_

_"Hello? Can stranger-san hear good?"  
_

_A bubbly voice.  
_

_Envy.  
_

_Gajeel's eyes fluttered open to to see a crystal haven of light and blue waters. A large utopia seeming place, a total air of tranquility and pure silence. The prince tried to move his hand to see if he could feel, but horrible, stinging pain explode on his hand. His eyes adjusted to the light and he saw a white bandage wrapped around his hand, but red was obviously under it by the way he pink tinge of burnt skin showed underneath. Ropes were cut around him, lying useless. He wondered what the hell happened to him. Light...  
_

_Was he... dead..?  
_

_"Juvia is talking to stranger-san!" A loud voice suddenly said, and Gajeel's attention snapped to a strange blue haired girl crouching above him that he had been too preoccupied to notice. He flinched at her accusing expression. He was surely not dead. Now it was someone about to attack him, someone to inflict pain on him. He closed his eyes and waited for something, anything, but nothing came. After a few seconds he opened an eye cautiously.  
_

_"What is stranger-san doing?"  
_

_Gajeel gave the girl an incredulous look as he sat up immediately, even though he had rope burns and a huge, cramping pain in his back. The girl seemed interesting enough with her third person speech, something kids did when they were five or so, even though she looked about a year younger than him, nine maybe. He looked at her strange, oceanic colored deep blue hair, done in a neat row of curls and her dark, dark azure eyes. She wore a white dress covered in pink and ruffles, and a frilly light yellow ribbon was tied in her hair. A small teru teru bozu was on the collar of her dress.  
_

_Words came to mind easily...  
_

_Dainty. Petite. Gentle. Small. Childish. Yet... Unique. And something about her was so fragile... But he knew he couldn't trust anyone. He had trusted Metalicana and his own mother and they had left him.  
_

_"Who are you, and where am I?" Gajeel had asked, his red eyes pointed dangerously. The girl smiled, unaffected by his rough and tough demeanor, and then smiled, and made a rainbow-motion with her arms, grinning, showing off a cute smile with her two front teeth missing.  
_

_"Stranger-san is in the Water Kingdom, silly! And this is Juvia, who lives in the Water Kingdom! What is Stranger-san's name? And where is he from?"  
_

_Gajeel grunted, surprised by the girl's kindness... Juvia... But, he was at a place he had never even heard of before... The Water Kingdom? What was that? As he looked around, he noticed water all around him, but he could breathe what he knew had to be air. So they were in a huge dome of some sort, and crystal colored sea was all around, forming a beautiful Utopia of sorts. The Water Kingdom... He turned to the girl and grunted.  
_

_"I'm Gajeel. Don't forget it," He snapped, but once again the girl didn't even flinch, something that confused and yet intrigued him slightly. "I'm from the Iron Nation, and I was the prince there," He revealed, not caring who he revealed the information out to anymore. If he was going to be mistreated, which he knew he was, than might as well get it over with and tell her. He waited for a response about how his father was good-for-nothing and a scared and disgusted expression of sorts, but none came.  
_

_"Oh, Juvia doesn't know where that is... And Gajeel is really a prince?" She suddenly asked, totally disregarding what he had just said. The shocked iron-prince waited for a few seconds, trying to remember what was said... He nodded dumbly, feeling stupid, as the girl clapped her hands excitedly, pink filling her slightly chubby cheeks. "Wow! Juvia saw Gajeel-kun float down into the Water Kingdom tied in ropes, and she treated his burn... But she never knew he was a prince! Juvia is so lucky to have found him! She thinks we should play together!"  
_

_The black haired ten year old raised an eye incredulously, shocked inside of his mind at being attacked and going wild in rage from one pat and then being dragged off to play with a nine year old, but she ignored him and dragged him off to play. The blue haired girl was stronger than she looked and managed to drag him from the cobblestones from where he had been treated to all the way to a different part of the Kingdom. The buildings were made of marble and white was the primary color. The ten year old couldn't help but compare the clean Kingdom to the rusty and dull grey Iron Nation.  
_

_Before Gajeel knew it, the two were at a small clearing in between many different large marble buildings, solid cement sidewalks and stones built in precisely around a fountain of spring water, flowing freely and clearly and shining off the light around the Kingdom. Gajeel raised an eye as the short little girl struggled to get on to the rim of the fountain, in a very un-lady like way. He tried to ignore her, but a glaring piece of his heart longed for he warmth she had managed to give him when he had first opened his eyes... He stared at his burnt hand covered in messy bandages. Warmth and caring... How was she the one to show him this? Pain had been all he had received after his mother and father had left him. The warmth... It was what he longed for, but it was from the wrong person. He eyed the girl as she managed to hoist herself onto the fountain. She was not his family.  
_

_Juvia grinned from ear to ear as she stood up on the fountain rim with wobbly legs, and smiled as if she hadn't a single care in the world. Gajeel watched as she giggled, her cheeks flushed and her face projecting the very image of what pure joy and happiness should be. He chuckled to himself a bit before mentally slapping himself. He wasn't in his own land. This was a foreigner's territory. Someplace where he was not welcomed as kin of another Nation. He had to leave soon, somehow. But how when he was stuck at the bottom of the sea? He looked up at the top of the air dome before the girl cleared her throat girlishly, and then curtsied, to Gajeel's surprise. He stood there idly as Juvia watched with one eye opened, and cleared her throat again, but then realizing he was confused.  
_

_"Does Gajeel not know how to play?" She had asked, and the iron nation prince raised an eye. He shrugged, never having time to 'play' before, his father always trying to train him to use his iron-transform abilities with no time to ever play. She looked as if she was thinking, but then snapped up like she had suddenly gotten an idea.  
_

_"Juvia knows how to explain!" She exclaimed happily, and smiled sweetly. Gajeel felt the strange, yet familiar warmth he had from before when he had seen the blue haired girl for the first time. "Juvia and Gajeel are playing a game. Juvia is the pretty princess and Gajeel is the heroic knight, getting ready to save Juvia from the evil villain who has catured her at the top of the water tower!" She explained enthusiastically, and Gajeel simply stared. "He needs to get Juvia out of the tower before she gets eaten by the bad guy!"  
_

_"But there's no bad guy here," The iron nation prince replied confusedly, feeling unexperienced compared to the girl who seemed to know much more about these things. In fact, he was downright uncomfortable with the situation. Never before had he played and if his father heard he was doing this, he'd be in deep trouble by now. Juvia ignored the look on the boy's face and giggled. "That's why we have to pretend that there's a bad guy!" She exclaimed, and then grinned so hard Gajeel thought it must have hurt. "Rescue Princess Juvia!"  
_

_The blue haired girl ran around the rim of the fountain, giggling with mirth as she ran her hands down and into the water, sending splashes into the air as she went along. Gajeel stood for a few seconds before he realized she was pretending that she was being chased by the evil villain. He looked at Juvia and felt the warmth in the same spot once again... Warmth. Something Metalicana and his mother had taken with them when they had left. He felt a smile on his lips as he extended a hand and with great accuracy, hit the spot right behind Juvia, nailing the 'villain' from behind. The blue haired girl, once realizing he had hit the empty air target, stopped running and splashing and then laughed, stopping in her tracks and smiling. "Yay! Gajeel has rescued Juvia!"  
_

_The blue haired girl, from the fountain, jumped into his arms in what seemed to be slow motion, landing on the ground and almost sending the boy off balance with the hug. "Juvia has found her prince! Juvia has been rescued, hooray!" She cheered happily, and the strange, yet settling warmth reappeared in Gajeel's mind. Warmth...  
_

_ A rose pink tint rose to his cheeks.  
_

_...  
_

_That day when the two had finished a long day of playing as princess and prince, the two began to walk back from the fountain clearing, both tired and sweaty but happy and cheerful after the day. Juvia was smiling widely, giggling as they walked, and even Gajeel couldn't win the fight against the grin on his face. Warmth... The same warmth had returned and this girl was the cause of it. He was being treated with kindness and respect. Acceptance and happiness. Warmth.  
_

_As they walked back, Gajeel turned to the blue haired girl. "So, where do you live-"  
_

_Before he could even finish his question, Gajeel was interrupted by the sound of clattering metal boots, a second sense to him because he always heard the sound when he was in the Iron Nation Castle. Before he knew it, there were two guards dressed in ivory white uniforms in front of them, with weapons pointed in their hands. They lowered them when they saw Gajeel, and he froze. Guards. What...? But then he saw it was not him they were looking at, it was Juvia. He quickly shifted in front of her instinctively with great speed, afraid they would attack her. But instead, they only looked slightly confused.  
_

_"Princess? We've been looking all over for you! And where have you been? And who is this with you?" The first guard asked, suspicious of the prince in front of him. Gajeel stared at the men as they ran their eyes down his body, eying the unfamiliar face who was obviously not their kind. He felt the warmth leave his mind and the sense of coldness and anger fill him again. He glared and felt a low growl form in his throat. He held out his arms protectively, but then froze.  
_

_Pr... Princess...?  
_

_Juvia, who seemed to be unaffected by this all turned to the guards and pouted childishly. "Juvia was fine. She and her new friend Gajeel-kun were playing by the fountain! Juvia was fine," She stated, and stepped out in front of Gajeel. He looked at her in shock. She was the princess of this Kingdom..? Was she possibly... Royalty like him? He looked at the girl, and felt the warmth he saw in her eyes drain.  
_

_"So you... Your a princess?" He asked, and then remembered her beautiful dress and her blue eyes and hair, matching what one would expect from the Water Kingdom greatly. How could he have been so stupid? He stared at her. She was like him. But she had everything, he knew. People who cared for her, the guards, and her family, judging by how the guards must have gotten the orders to look for her. Wealth and fortune. No stress. Everything fit in for her. Handed on a silver platter...  
_

_He felt the disgust written across his face.  
_

_He turned to run for the hills, but Juvia called out his name and immediately the guards scooped him up easily with their muscle. He struggled against the two, trying to will himself to turn into metal, but nothing happened. Juvia's face was written with hurt, but he pushed it to the back of his mind. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stand to even look at the girl's face anymore. She was a princess... Everything, she had. He was an exile. Nothing was what he was.  
_

_It just wasn't fair...  
_

_And the worst memory that Gajeel remembered was the tear stains on top of his small, dirtied brown cloak and being tossed in the throne room. He tried to scramble to his feet, trying to run away. The warmth... She was everything he didn't want to remember, but at the same time, everything he wanted back. His spirits sank down when the doors to the throne room closed. Silence echoed in the room...  
_

"Gajeel-kun?" A voice asked, and before the iron Nation used-to-be-prince could finish a thought, he saw Juvia was talking to him and he had been spacing out for several minutes now. He gulped and nodded, as if he had been caught stealing food from the pantry late at night. "Juvia thinks Gajeel should eat with us."

The black haired male scowled, feeling embarassed, but took up a seat anyway by Lisanna, who smiled knowingly, as they began to eat the feast, getting ready for a long festival ahead of them.


End file.
